David Dewhurst Pads Big 3rd-Quarter Haul With Personal Funds in Texas

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s Senate campaign announced today that it raised $4.64 million in the third quarter, including $2 million from the Republican’s own pocket.

In a press release, the campaign touted the $2.64 million it raised from individual donors as exceeding “the modern-day record set forth by any Texas U.S. Senate candidate.” It also stressed that 93 percent of the individual donations came from Texas and that about $2.4 million of those funds were raised in the last month of the quarter.

While the other Senate campaigns have remained quiet about their quarterly numbers, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz (R) indicated to Roll Call on Saturday that his fundraising for the last period was “very strong.”

Patrick Isenberg, the spokesman for Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones’ (R) campaign, used the news to take a shot at Dewhurst, who has the ability to fully self-fund his campaign.

"David Dewhurst will need all the money he can get to convince Texas voters he has a conservative record worth voting for,” Isenberg said.

Dewhurst, Cruz, Ames Jones and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert are squaring off in the Republican primary, with Dewhurst and Cruz viewed as the frontrunners. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez is expected to be the Democratic nominee, although the general election is not expected to be highly competitive at this point.